Forty years of brilliant businesses: our top five to watch

Written by
Sena McGrand
•
Published 12th November 2018 • 3 minute read

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the UK Business Show. The ExCel centre will be packed out with the best of British businesses celebrating entrepreneurship, from individuals and enterprise giants.

This year we’re looking out for exciting companies that do things a little differently. Here are our top five ‘ones to watch’ at the show.

Bedford Row, the street by Chancery Lane, is renowned for its concentration of world-class lawyers. Founded in the 1980s, barristers’ chambers 33 Bedford Row was set up to offer legal advice and advocacy in civil, criminal, family, immigration and regulatory law at all levels.

The firm is well-known amongst legal media for its wide-ranging cases. It’s exciting to see this specialist firm appear at the Business Show.

AXA PPP HEALTHCARE, the well-known private healthcare insurance businesses caters to both individuals and businesses. AXA believes people are the foundation of a successful business and it’s essential for companies to look after them.

From offering prompt referrals to a specialist or hospital, to covering the costs of eligible diagnosis and treatment in a private hospital, AXA enables employees to get back to work quicker and feeling better.

This year, they launched Realise Health Plans and Assessments tohelp individuals discover more about their health and make changes to improve it. By using blood marker analysis and technology to explore where health might be at risk, it gives individuals tailored advice to make a positive change. They are at the forefront of using technology to tailor healthcare at an individual level, and often supported by employers.

Rewarding employees with shares is a fascinating way of keeping engagement levels high but can be complex and confusing at the best of times. That is where Vestd comes in.

Co-founded by Naveed Akram and Ifty Nasir in 2014, the London-based start-up developed a secure platform that takes care of all the paperwork associated with issuing and managing shares amongst employees. Akram and Nasir are avid believers that if employees are given a portion of equity in a business, their attitude toward the business changes positively, allowing them to become more vested in the business’s success.

Vestd acts as a vessel for business founders to distribute their equity to loyal team members as a reward for their hard work, and to incentivise them to stay with the business for the long run. Not only is Vestd the first of its kind, it allows employers to reward their hardworking teams by sharing ownership in what has been built together.

For any business, the costs of using lawyers can add up, even for basic operational consulting. That painful reality is why LawEasier was created, a company that gives small business owners access to legal advice at an affordable price. LawEasier operates on a web-based subscription business model that couples clever technology with expert legal know-how.

The company’s motto is for small business to be protected by the law rather than be at risk from it. Basically, it’s like being seated with a lawyer, at the cost of a mobile phone contract. It’s a simple solution to an often-stressful problem when faced by small business owners – LawEasier offers a clear and valuable proposition.

Lastly, we are delighted to have a PHA client at this year’s show. Octopus Energy is one of the UK’s fastest growing and most innovative energy technology companies and is proud to offer its green energy supply to businesses, as well as consumers. If you are around and would like to know more about sustainable energy, join the Octopus Energy team in Seminar Hall 4 at 5.30pm Wednesday, November 14th for Octopus Energy Business Solutions’ talk, ‘50 shades of Green’.

The Octopus Energy Business Solutions team will be discussing the ways in which businesses can take steps towards making their business greener.

If you need support communicating your key messages to stakeholders or to a new target audience our team are experienced in working with a multitude of entrepreneurial individuals and businesses. Contact us today for a no obligation chat to find out how we can work with you.